Forever: If Will Gardner Had Survived
by adventurous97
Summary: An alternative ending to the courthouse shooting on "The Good Wife" that took the life of Will Gardner.
1. A Medically Induced Coma

Forever: If Will Gardner Had Survived

Chapter 1

"Kalinda? What's going on?"

"Alicia…I'm really sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Alicia said, somewhat confused.

"Will's been shot," Kalinda said, finding it hard to get the words out of her mouth as she stood leaning against the circulation desk in the emergency room. "They just wheeled him into emergency surgery."

Alicia gasped, shocked and upset. "Where are you? Where is he?"

"Chicago General," Kalinda replied. "Look, Alicia, I'll call you back in a sec, okay?" She ended the phone call.

Eli saw Alicia's reaction, and said to her, "I'll introduce Peter. You go."

Alicia gave Eli his phone back, but didn't move. "Alicia," he said again, "Go." When she hesitated again, he said "Go!" And at that, Alicia grabbed her jacket, phone, and purse, and ran out to her car.

The drive to the hospital was nothing more than a blur of crosswalks, traffic lights, and taxi cabs. She pulled into the first parking spot she saw, and sprinted across the parking lot to the doors to the emergency room.

She entered in a room filled with craziness. Nurses and doctors were working at computers or running around tending to patients. Three trauma rooms could be seen on the other side of the hall. Restrooms were to her rights, elevators and more rooms to her left. She walked up to the nurse at the circulation desk, but as she began to speak, she found it hard to speak without getting emotional.

"Excuse me? I'm looking for Will Gardner."

The nurse paused as she typed a few things into her computer. "He's in surgery up on floor three. Room 309. You can take the elevators behind you."

"Thank you," Alicia said as she turned around to press the call button for the elevator. After she pressed the button, she heard a familiar voice. "Alicia?"

She turned, and Diane and Kalinda were walking towards her. "Where are you going?" Diane asked. "Will's in surgery."

"Yeah, the nurse said he's on floor three. I want to know that he's…he's…" Alicia was unable to finish as Diane embraced her. Alicia did all she could to stop herself from crying in front of the entire emergency room, but a couple of sobs made it out anyway.

The three women rode up the elevator together, and walked into a quiet hallway with a reception-type desk in front of them. Alicia scanned the walls for signs with room numbers, and found the one she was looking for at the right end of the room: _Operating Rooms 301-310._

Alicia sprinted down the hallway, followed by Diane and Kalinda, who were both going at a fast walk. She saw the number on the door first. Below the room number was a piece of paper with somewhat scribbly writing, as if it had been put in the slot in a hurry. It read: _Will Gardner. _She looked through the small window in the door and saw multiple doctors and nurses working on an unconscious person lying on the operating table. There was a lot of blue, and a lot of blood.

Kalinda took her turn looking through the window after Alicia backed away in shock. She and Diane collapsed into two of the older-looking chairs on the opposite side of the hallway. They were brown with maroon cushions, but didn't coordinate at all with the sterile, white walls. She remained standing, because she was feeling awkwardly anxious.

A nurse came down the hallway from the entry area and asked Kalinda, Diane, and Alicia what they were doing outside an operating room. "Our friend is in there," Diana stuttered.

"Will Gardner?" the nurse asked. All three women nodded in response. "Let me check how much longer the surgery is going to take. I don't want you all to have to wait around for hours.

_Well, she clearly thinks we all have better things to do, _Alicia thought. _I don't care if I have to wait overnight – I'm going to stay here until I see Will alive, and in the flesh._

The nurse returned less than a minute later, and after looking through the window she told the women, "He'll be moving to recovery in a few minutes – but he won't be conscious for a while."

Alicia looked up, feeling desperate. "Why? Shouldn't he come around after surgery?"

Before the nurse could say anything, one of the doctors dressed in blue appeared from inside the operating room.

"Good afternoon, ladies," he said in a very polite tone. "I'm afraid you won't be able to speak to Mr. Gardner for a while."

"What?" Diane asked. Kalinda and Alicia exchanged worried looks.

"We were able to remove all three bullets, but the one that entered Mr. Gardner's neck may have caused some severe damage to his brain. So, I have made the decision to put him in a medically-induced coma for the time being to give his body time to recover from the trauma and minimize the risk of brain damage.

"If, after a few days, Mr. Gardner appears to be stable, then we will bring him out of the coma and begin the next stage of his recovery."

Alicia's, Diane's, and Kalinda's hearts all sank. Alicia lifted her head, looked the doctor straight in the eye, and said, "Will he live?"

The doctor shifted his weight, then replied, "Yes, I expect that, with time, he will make a full recovery. Please believe me when I say that putting him in a medically induced coma for a while is the best thing we can do to help his brain right now. That said, you can come see him in his room if you like."

"Which room?" Alicia blurted out before she even thought about what she was saying.

"He'll be moved to room 324," the doctor replied. "I'll take you down there."

As Diane, Kalinda, and Alicia all stood up to follow the doctor, Alicia's phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out, and sighed when she saw the caller ID: _Peter Florrick. _She hit 'Ignore,' not wanting to talk to Peter right now. Then, a few seconds later, her phone rang again – but this time the screen read _Eli Golde. _Annoyed, and wanting privacy, she hit 'Ignore' once again.

After walking through the reception area to the other hallway and making a couple of turns down other hallways, the doctor paused outside the door to room 324. A nurse came out of the room and said to the doctor, "Everything is in place, sir."

"Thank you, Anna," the doctor replied, and the nurse headed for the reception area. The doctor motioned for the women to go in first, and Alicia bolted in first.

What she saw was nothing like she'd expected. The patient on the hospital bed had a respirator in his mouth, heart rate monitor stickers around his chest, three IVs, and stitches and bandages in three different places. When she looked at the patient's face, her heart rose with relief: Will's face was there.

She reached to grab Will's left hand, but the doctor told her, "Please don't. Any external interaction might interfere with his brain's reaction to the drugs."

"Then when can I?" Alicia asked, tears coming to her eyes.

"Alicia, calm down," Kalinda said, holding Alicia's left arm. Diane didn't really say anything – she was so shocked to see her fellow managing partner unconscious and in a coma.

Alicia's phone vibrated again, but this time it was a text message from her daughter, Grace. _Mom, are you ok? Zach and I were wondering where you are. _Alicia was about to reply _I'll be home soon _when another message came in from Grace: _ Dad's here, and he's worried about you._

_Did Eli tell him? _Alicia wondered. _Wait - of course he did – Peter would have asked Eli why I didn't introduce him at the luncheon. Great. _She looked at the time on her phone and was shocked at what she saw: 3:35 pm. She had left the luncheon nearly ninety minutes ago. The time had passed so fast she didn't even notice. She sent a quick text to Grace, saying _I'll be home in 30 mins, _and turned to Diane and Kalinda. "I've got to get home," she said. "Grace and Zach are worried and Peter is at my apartment too apparently."

Diane and Kalinda, nodded and hugged Alicia goodbye. They both understood. "We'll let you know if anything changes," Kalinda assured Alicia.

"Please do," Alicia replied, almost immediately. After she got into her car, put the keys in the ignition, and locked the doors, she began to cry. After a minute or two, she dried her tears and drove home. When she pulled into the parking garage below her apartment complex, she looked at the ceiling of her car and said, "Oh, dear God Will, please live…I can't live without you."


	2. A Favorite Wine

Chapter 2

"You can't be serious."

"Would I really joke about Will being shot, Cary?"

"Sorry, Alicia," Cary replied apologetically. "Is he going to be okay?"

"They put him in a medically induced coma to try and minimize the damage to his brain," Alicia said as she put her free hand on her forehead with her elbow against her kitchen table. She had just gotten Zach and Grace to bed 20 minutes ago, and Peter was still here. In fact, he had just walked back into the kitchen and was looking at her with a questioning look on his face.

Alicia saw Peter's look, and said to Cary, "Look, I've gotta go. I'll be in tomorrow morning. Let me know if Kalinda or Diane call the office, okay?"

"Alright, Alicia," Cary said, "Good night." He put his office phone down on his desk at Florrick/Agos and Associates.

Alicia put her cell phone down on the table and rubbed her face with her hands. It had been a _very _long day.

"Who was that?" Peter asked as he leaned against the stove on the opposite side of the kitchen.

"Cary," Alicia replied as she looked up at her husband. "He wanted to know why I hadn't showed up after the luncheon this afternoon."

"Ah," Peter responded. "So, you're going into work tomorrow?"

"Yes, Peter, I'm going to work tomorrow," Alicia replied with a small amount of bitterness. "What else would I do?"

"Wait by Will Gardner's bedside?"

Alicia was surprised by Peter's annoyance. "Peter, I know you haven't always liked Will. He is one of my closest friends, and I was with him for a while. But _don't joke with me_. Will almost died for God's sake!"

"That's not what I meant!" Peter grew more angry. "You cheated on me with him!"

"And you didn't cheat on me?" Alicia felt no guilt in saying that. She intended to make a point – they had both cheated. But she decided that she didn't want to get in a fight tonight. She didn't want to wake the kids (even though they were teenagers), and she was tired and worried sick about Will. "Peter, I think it's time you left." She got up and opened the front door and stood inside the open doorway, and motioned him out.

Peter almost protested, but then decided against it. Alicia had made a point. He said goodnight, and no sooner had his feet stepped over the doormat was the door shut and locked behind him.

Inside the apartment, Alicia leaned against the door and sighed again. For the first time in a while, she wondered, _Why am I still married to this guy? _And then she answered her own question. _Of course. He's the governor and I'm supposed to be the model wife. _

"Mom?" Zach voice preceded his arrival from the hallway. "Is dad gone?"

"Oh, Zach, he just left. You ok?"

"Yeah," Zach shrugged like a typical teenager. "Are you?"

Alicia wondered what she should say to her eighteen year-old son, but then she settled on the best possible option: being honest. "No, Zach. I'm not ok. I'm worried sick about Will and…"

Zach embraced his mom in a hug. "Mom, you said yourself the doctors told you that he's going to live. He's going to be okay."

Alicia pulled out of the hug. "Thank you Zach, I appreciate that. Now if could go back to bed, I'll be going to bed soon too."

"Okay, Mom," Zach replied. "Good night."

"Good night." Alicia stood in the hallway and watched Zach walk down the hall and into his room. She then reached into the wine fridge, opened a bottle of red wine, and poured herself a glass before sitting down again at the kitchen table. After she took a sip, she gazed at the label on the wine – she hadn't even looked at it before pulling the cork out. The label read: _Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2012. _She wasn't sure why she had bought that particular wine, but then she realized why she still did.

It was Will's favorite wine.


	3. Alicia

Chapter 3

_What will I do?_

_ If Will lives? If Will dies?_

Alicia thought to herself as she lay in bed. The sun had risen and was beginning to shine through the blinds over her window. She glanced at her clock, even though she had already hit _Snooze _once. It read _6:42am_.

She grunted as she pulled herself out of bed and glanced at her phone. She had no new messages. She sighed in dismay.

Will had been in a medically-induced coma for, as of today, thirteen days. Not that she was counting or anything. Alicia had been to visit Will almost every day after work, but his two sisters had been slightly suspicious of her. They knew she was the First Lady of Illinois, but she wondered if Will had ever told them about her. Probably not. Will hadn't been in contact with his sisters much since he had graduated from Georgetown.

This particular morning was a Friday, and on this particular morning, Zach and Grace had beat her to breakfast. They hadn't made their lunches or gotten dressed yet though. "Morning," Alicia said sleepily as she poured herself a cup of coffee. She had a feeling that this wasn't the last cup of coffee she was going to consume today.

"Morning, mom," Zach and Grace replied, almost simultaneously. "How'd you sleep?"

"Alright," Alicia replied monotonously. "I've got to get to work early because I have an early deposition. Will you lock up for me when you leave?"

"Sure mom," Zach replied graciously. "Have a good day."

"You too," Alicia said as she hugged her two children. "Are you guys okay with pizza tonight? I'll be home late."

"Works for me," Grace said, and Zach nodded in agreement. "Will you be working late?"

"What?" Alicia said, caught slightly off guard.

"Or are you going to see Will?" Grace asked.

Alicia paused, sighed, and then said, "Okay, yes, but the doctors might be taking him off the sedatives today."

"It's okay mom," Grace smiled, "Do what you need to do."

"Bye, Grace. Love you too, Zach." Alicia smiled as she walked out of her apartment and headed for the elevator.

Alicia's day ended up being much longer than she expected. She had three depositions and two court appearances before 4pm. She was tired, and was drinking her third cup of coffee when Cary approached her desk back at the office. "Robyn said someone called your office phone earlier."

Alicia immediately looked up. "Did she know who?"

"Don't think so," Cary shrugged. "She would have said if she did, right?"

"Okay, thanks Cary," Alicia sat down in her desk chair and pressed the _Voicemail _button on her phone. The call was from Diane, made a few hours ago.

"Hi Alicia, it's Diane. I'm sorry that missed you, but I wanted to let you know that Will's doctors agreed to start bringing Will out of his coma. He'll be conscious within the next 48 hours. Hope to see you soon." _BEEP._

Alicia slammed the phone down, pulled her things together, chucked out what was left of her to-go coffee, and told Cary "I've gotta go. See you next week," as she sprinted into the elevator. She didn't care about any work that wasn't done – all she cared about right now was seeing Will.

Seeing Will alive.

Alicia parked in the first parking spot she found, ran into an elevator that was half closed, and walked down the hallway to room 324 on the third floor. The paper under the room number still read _Will Gardner. _As she approached the room, she saw the door propped open and saw Diane outside the room, sitting in a chair. She stood up as soon as she Alicia coming.

"Hi," Diane said kindly, giving Alicia a hug.

"Hi," Alicia replied anxiously. "Any updates?"

"They've taken him off most of the strong sedatives. There's only a couple of nurses in there right now, so you can go in if you like."

Alicia turned towards the door to the room, and then turned back to Diane. "Thanks," she said. She turned around and entered the room. She rounded the blue curtain just as two nurses passed her to leave. A vitals monitor was loudly beeping away at a constant rate. The ventilator was gone, replaced by a nasal tube that looped around Will's ears. One less IV, too.

She didn't care about the rules that had been laid out on Will's first night in the hospital. She pulled a chair up next to the right side of his bed, sat down, and grabbed Will's right hand. She didn't hear any change of sound in his vitals monitor, and she sighed as she looked at Will's face. The bandaging on his neck had been redone, and didn't look as thick as before.

"Will," she began to say, "I've been worried sick about you. I don't know if you can hear me, but I want to say this anyway. I care about you so much and…" she began to tear up, "I don't know what I would do if I lost you, so I've been here almost every day, praying that you'll come through this." She paused, then continued. "I need you Will."

Before she could say anymore, her phone vibrated in her coat pocket. She glanced at the text. _Hey mom, Zach and I have ordered pizza. Let me know when you'll be home. Love you. –Grace. PS: Hope Will's doing ok _

Alicia smiled, and put the phone back in her pocket. "Alright," she stuttered, "I'd better go. See you soon, Will Gardner." She sniffed loudly to hold back the tears in her eyes, and stood up to leave. Only that she couldn't move her left hand.

She locked down with confusion, and saw that her left hand was still holding Will's right hand, which was partly covered in bandages and IVs. Her hand was loose, but Will's hand was not. She felt some pressure on her hand.

_What? _Alicia thought. She squeezed Will's hand lightly, thinking that it was just her imagination.

And then he squeezed back.

Alicia gasped in shock, and called out to Diane. Diane came to Will's bedside, and just as Alicia was about to speak, Will's vitals monitor began to beep faster than it had before.

One of his doctors rushed in seconds later, and saw Will's hand intertwined with Alicia. "Let go, please," he told Alicia. "I can't," Alicia said, "He's squeezing my hand."

The doctor checked his pulse. "His heart rate's increasing fast. I think he's waking up."

Alicia and Diane exchanged surprised and hopeful facial expressions, and Alicia squeezed Will's hand again.

He squeezed back again.

Less than a minute later, Will's mouth opened as he gasped for air. His body took a few deep breaths, and his eyes slowly opened.

Will's eyes slowly drifted around the room. He didn't speak. He paused when he saw that he was holding Alicia's hand.

Diane and Alicia were close to tears. Diane clasped her hand over her mouth. Alicia grabbed Will's hand with her other free hand, and sat down to get closer to his eye level. She was so close to crying with joy that she could barely speak. His doctor stood still as Will's heart rate monitor returned to a slower rate of beeping.

Alicia stared into Will's eyes. "Will?"

Will looked to where Alicia's voice came from, and made eye contact. His mouth broke into a tiny smile.

"Alicia."


	4. Josephine

**Thanks for all the reviews and views! Keep it up! Sorry for not updating sooner – this week has been a little crazy. **

Chapter 4

Alicia strolled down the hospital hallway, smiling to herself. She was looking forward to seeing Will again, especially since he had been steadily improving. It had been almost a week since he woke up holding Alicia's hand, and she was sure that she would never erase those minutes from her mind. They kept holding hands for nearly an hour after Will woke up, at which time Alicia had to get home to her kids.

Turning into Will's hospital room, she almost ran into another woman who was walking out. "Oh, pardon me!" Alicia exclaimed. "I'm sorry…I didn't see you coming."

"Oh, no worries," the woman replied. "I've actually been bumped into before."

Alicia observed the woman in front of her for a second. She looked about Will's age, was obviously married because she was wearing a dazzling diamond ring, was sporting way too much mascara for her pale complexion, and was smiling oddly.

The woman broke the silence. "Oh, forgive me. I'm Josephine Brown. I used to be Josephine Gardner before I got married. I'm Will's older sister."

"Pleasure to meet you, Josephine," Alicia said as she exchanged an awkward handshake.

"And you are?" Josephine asks inquisitively. _She clearly doesn't live in Illinois, _Alicia thought to herself.

"Alicia Florrick," Alicia introduced herself. "I'm a good friend of Will's."

"Nice to meet you Alicia," Josephine replied. "Forgive me, but, is your husband Peter Florrick? The governor of Illinois?" Alicia nodded in reply. "I'm so sorry! Will and I were raised in Pittsburgh before I moved to DC and he moved to Chicago. I'm not super connected with politics."

"Oh, no worries," Alicia said, "I've never been to Pittsburgh, though. What's it like?"

"Quiet compared to Chicago, I can tell you that!" Josephine laughed, and then realized that she was still blocking the doorway. "Oh, go right ahead! I'm sure he's had enough of talking to me for one day."

"Thank you," Alicia said as she entered the doorway. She then turned around again and said, "Josephine?"

Josephine turned in the hallway. "Yes?"

"How long are you in town?"

"Well, I'm here at least until Will gets discharged. I'm staying with Clara, Will's younger sister, right now. I want to make sure that my little brother is all well again before I head back to DC."

"Of course. Well, it was nice to meet you." Alicia said politely.

"You as well!" Josephine said with an almost false, fancy smile. "See you soon!" And with that, Josephine strolled down the hallway towards the elevators. Alicia sighed, not wanting to have to deal with more awkward family member situations. She'd had enough of those for one lifetime with Jackie Florrick.

Alicia smiled as she rounded the curtain. "Hey there," she said to Will, who was sitting up in bed. He had some color back in his face, and his bandaging had been reduced again. "Hey," he replied with a smile. "It sounds like you met Josephine."

"I did," Alicia replied as she sat down in a chair. "Is she always that spritely?"

"She likes to be welcoming and warm," Will sighed.

"But?"

"But what?"

"What?"

"Oh, come on Will," Alicia crossed her legs. "I've known you long enough that when you sigh after making a positive comment about something there's always a _but _coming afterwards."

Will chuckled, and said, "She really likes to be in charge. A little overbearing sometimes, actually. She wants to take charge of my discharge and outpatient recovery, but I don't want that. I want space.

"And I want you to help me."

Alicia took a double take. "Sorry?"

"Oh, come on Alicia," Will tilted his head. "I'd much rather recover with you to help me than Josephine. She'll treat me like a kid, and I don't want to be treated like one."

"Well, thanks for the insight," Alicia said. "When do you get out of here?"

"If everything stays stable, I can get discharged in two days."

"Well then, I will make sure to free up my schedule two days from now." Alicia smiled. She stood up to remove her coat, but before she sat back down again she saw Josephine sitting out in the hall looking at her cell phone. And holding coffee.

"I thought she had left for today," Alicia said quietly, while still looking out the door.

"She won't leave until visiting hours are over. She cares so much…"

"But a little too much?"

"Yeah," Will replied. "I love her 'cause she's my sister, but sometimes I want her to respect that I want my space."

"I totally understand," Alicia said. She peered at her phone, and saw three missed calls: two from Zach, and one from Peter. "Oh shoot. I'm sorry Will, but I've gotta go. Family duties."

"Do what you need to do," Will replied, with a hint of sadness.

Alicia whirled around. "I'll be back tomorrow, okay? And the day after when you get discharged." She squeezed Will's left hand, and said, "You're going to be okay."

"Okay," Will sighed again. "Bye."

"Bye," Alicia said as she walked out. "Bye, Josephine, nice to meet you."

"Alicia? Can I just say something?"

"Of course."

"Look, Alicia," Josephine crossed her arms. "I'm protective of my little brother, and judging by you being close with Will it sounds like you have history. But I don't want you getting involved with him when you are still married and have kids."

Alicia got a little angry. "Look, Josephine, I know you are trying to look out for your brother, but you have no right to try and control his relationships with other people. Good day." And with that, Alicia went around Josephine and headed for the elevators.

**Hope you liked the twist…I'll try to upload another chapter in the next few days!**


	5. Beaten To It

Chapter 5

Alicia walked into Florrick/Agos two days later feeling hopeful. Will was getting discharged later that day, and she had agreed to help him get home.

Cary saw Alicia as she walked out to her desk. "You look pleased with yourself," he said with a smile.

Alicia immediately tried to resume a straight face. She debated about making up some story, but then she just blurted out, "Will's getting discharged today. He asked me to help him recover once he's an outpatient."

Cary laughed. "Alicia, you look too pleased to be doing that."

Alicia gave Cary a look. "Look, Cary, I was so emotional when I wasn't sure if he was going to make it that I'm kind of over the moon now that he's made it."

"I see," Cary said, still smiling. "Remember we have a deposition in half an hour."

"The divorce case?"

"Yep. The one with lots of money involved."

"Fabulous," Alicia agreed. "Divorces are much complicated when there's lots of money involved."

"Agreed," Cary reaffirmed. "See you in thirty minutes."

Alicia sat down, went through her desk phone voicemails, ordered another coffee, and tried to kill time before the divorce deposition.

"My wife is trying to take all my money!"  
"I made most of it!"

"Before we had kids!"

Alicia shook her head and then yelled, "Stop! Stop. We can work this out without yelling."

"Well then, I'm not willing to settle for your terms."

"Then we'll see you in court!"

"I don't want to go to court!"

Both Cary and Alicia had to calm down the husband and wife, and they took five minutes to stop yelling at each other. After they were both out the door, Alicia and Cary both sighed. The deposition had taken four hours.

And had gotten nowhere.

"Well, that was certainly interesting," Cary commented.

"More like a screaming match," Alicia replied. She checked her watch. _1:05pm. He will be getting discharged soon, _Alicia thought.

"Cary," she called as he was walking back to his desk. "Yes?" he replied. Just as Alicia was about to speak again, Cary's facial expressions changed as he observed Alicia's facial expressions. Cary smiled. "What?" Alicia asked in response to Cary's smile.

"Go," he said. "Go, Alicia."

Alicia smiled. "Thanks Cary. Have a good weekend."

"You too, Alicia. Take care. Oh – can I call you if a case comes up?"

"As always, Cary, I'll still take calls on the weekends." Alicia waved goodbye to everyone in the office as she headed down the lift.

Alicia walked up to the third floor of Chicago General and walked straight down to the room 324. But when she got there, there was no name below the room number. _What is happening?, _Alicia thought to herself. She turned around and walked back towards reception.

"Excuse me?" she asked a nurse at the desk. "I'm looking for Will Gardner?"

"Oh yes, I can look up where he is for you," the nurse replied as she typed some stuff into her keyboard. The nurse frowned. "Ma'am, it appears that Will Gardner has already been released."

"Sorry?" Alicia was surprised.

"He was discharged about an hour ago." Alicia's brain processing was slowing. "Who did he leave with?" she asked.

The nurse scrolled with her mouse a little bit, then replied, "Ma'am, he left with Mrs. Josephine Brown."


	6. Fancy A Beer?

Chapter 6

Will sat on his couch scrolling through TV channels, hoping to find something interesting to watch. He had just dosed himself up on painkillers.

And Josephine was reorganizing his apartment.

She had come and helped get him home, even though he had insisted that he didn't want her help. Even though he knew that Alicia would be mad, he had decided that he had wanted to get back to the calm of his own home.

"Will, what is this?" He heard Josephine ask behind him. He turned around slowly on the couch and saw his older sister holding a dog that was hollowed out for the purpose of being a piggy bank. She had an odd look on her face.

"What's wrong with a ceramic dog?" Will asked.

"It's filled with cigars," Josephine said monotonously. Will turned back to the TV, nodded to himself, then said to his sister without looking at her, "Yeah, that's my backup stash in case I ever feel like I need one. Please put it back where it was."

Josephine sighed, then followed Will's instructions and set it back on a shelf above one of his kitchen counters. She sighed again as she saw the disaster that was his kitchen area – the whole counter was strewn with old mail, newspapers, some legal documents, and dirty dishes.

"How can you live in such a dirty apartment?" she asked her brother.

"Cleanliness in my living space isn't one of my top priorities," Will replied sternly, still looking at the TV. He had turned to a rerun of an episode from _NCIS_ from a few seasons ago. In this particular episode, a train driver had mysteriously steered his New York City subway train into a dead end, but only he had died because there was no one on the train. Will didn't normally watch crime mystery shows, but for some reason he was finding it moderately interesting.

After about 30 minutes of watching _NCIS _and half-answering Josephine's numerous questions about his stuff, he felt his phone vibrate next to his leg. He looked down and read the caller ID: _Alicia Florrick._

He looked up at the ceiling for a few seconds, sighed, made sure that Josephine had left the room, and turned the TV off as he hit _Answer. Here we go, _he thought, starting to get worried about what Alicia might say.

He put the phone to his ear. "Hi Alicia," he said, trying to sound positive.

"You left me hanging at the hospital, and you can say is _hi_?" Alicia replied angrily. She sat in her car in the parking garage at Chicago General, feeling extremely mad. "And you let Josephine take you home? You said that you wanted space from her! That's why you asked me! Why didn't you at least me know?"

"Alicia, I'm sorry. Sometimes I can't win a battle with her."

"I wouldn't think that you, of all people, would be unable to win a battle of wills with your older sister," Alicia replied, realizing afterwards that she was being slightly inconsiderate. "Sorry, Will," she began again, "I just don't like being left hanging."

"I know, and I'm sorry," Will replied. "I hope you understand that I just wanted to get back to the peace of my own home."

"I get that," Alicia sighed. "Where is your sister now?"

"Still here," Will said quietly, and looked back at the kitchen area. _Still in the back, _Will thought happily to himself. "She's reorganizing my apartment."

"Seriously? That's a little nuts," Alicia said.

Will chuckled. "She found my backup stash of cigars and almost had a hissy fit."

"Wow. Does she not like them or something?"

"Her first husband was practically addicted to them. Ever since she got out of that marriage she can't even stand to look at them."

Alicia's eyes widened. "So, Josephine's on her second marriage now?"

"Yes," Will said. "She finds it crazy that she and Clara have gotten married and I haven't. She keeps telling me that I need to settle down and live a married life."

"There are many ups and downs to marriage, I can tell you that," Alicia said with a smile. "But, of course, you should be free to do what you want with your life. Don't let her control you."

"I've been resisting her control for the past fifteen years by not getting married," Will replied. "Part of me is just resisting her to annoy her, and another part of me just doesn't want to yet. But now that I've had my life flash before my eyes, I think maybe the future holds some changes for me."

"Well, I look forward to what the future brings for you then, Will," Alicia said hopefully. "I won't trouble you anymore, and I've got to get home anyways."

"Wanna come over for dinner tomorrow? Or just takeout? The doctors said I have to rest up for the next few days."

"I would love to, but I've got to go to a governorship-related dinner tomorrow with Peter. First Lady's duties," Alicia said. "But maybe sometime next week. Can you drink wine?"

"They said to stay away from coffee, but they didn't say anything about alcohol," Will said, satisfied with the realization that he wasn't banned from drinking _everything. _

As Will was about to respond, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around, and saw Josephine walking back into the kitchen holding a large pile of dirty laundry. He turned around quickly and said to Alicia, "Look, I've gotta go now. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Is Josephine back in earshot?" Alicia asked.

"Yes," Will replied. "Talk to you later."

"Talk to you later," Alicia replied. "Good night." She pressed _End _on her phone and put it down on the passenger seat. She realized she had been talked to Will for a while, and she was still sitting in the parking lot. _Whoops, _Alicia thought to herself, wondering what Zach and Grace were thinking by now. She drove quickly out of the parking lot and headed for home.

Will looked down at his phone to press _End, _but Alicia had already – his phone was in process of going back to the contact page. As he heard Josephine walking over, he locked his phone so she couldn't see Alicia's contact page on his phone.

"Who was that?" she asked.

Will had already anticipated this, so he responded, "An old friend just checking up on me." He smiled sarcastically.

"Don't tell me it was Alicia," Josephine said as she tilted her head, then continued, "Because she needs to _back off. _Is she always that forward?"

Will gave Josephine an angry look. "Josie, don't talk badly about Alicia. I've known her for a long time. She hasn't had the easiest time the last five years."

"Oh, so you two are close then? Why is that?"

"We worked at the same law firm for four years. When you work at the same law firm as someone else, you see a lot of each other," he said, knowing in his soul that it was a severe understatement.

"Why have you never told me this? If she's a lawyer, she would be a good match for you! And don't call me Josie! I'm not a kid."

Will sat up, suddenly feeling stiff. "Right now, I feel like you're trying to control me, so you're making me feel like a kid. Did I try to control you when we were kids? No! When you asked for space when we were teenagers, I gave it to you! Why can't you give the same to me?"

Josephine screamed, "Stop it, Will!" She paused, then began again, "Why didn't I know that you and Alicia worked at the same law firm?"

"We don't keep in touch very much, remember? You apparently forgot the last fifteen years when you got the call that I had been shot."

"Just because I didn't keep in touch does _not _mean I don't care about you!" Josephine yelled.

Will stood up as quickly as he could without feeling dizzy. He was starting to feel pain from his bullet wounds again too. "You know what, Josie? I can't stand yelling anymore right now because I am drugged, tired, and want to sleep. So get out before I yell even louder."

Josephine, shocked, stood up from the chair that she had been sitting in. "What about your meds?"

"I'm not a baby. I can take five pills by myself, thanks." Will took a swig of water. "And don't take anything that you want to clean on your way out. I like my apartment – every single messy part of it."

"Oh my God! You are unbelievable," Josephine uttered as she collected her things and headed for the door. As she put her hand on the handle, she turned to Will, who was still standing, and said, "Look, Will, I am trying to help you here. Next time, don't come whining to me telling me that I never tried to help you. Because I have tried. Good night." And with that, she opened the door, walked out, and slammed the door shut behind her.

A couple of seconds later, Will put his glass of water down on the kitchen counter, and then went over to his apartment door as if he was heading out somewhere – and then remembered that he couldn't drive for at least a week. _Darn it, _he thought. And then he came up with a better idea.

He took all of the pills that he had been instructed to take in the evening, then picked up his phone and told Siri, "Dial Diane Lockhart." Siri responded quickly, dialing Diane's cell. After a few rings, she picked up.

"Hi, Will, are you alright?" she said anxiously.

"Considering the circumstances, I'm great thanks," Will began. "Look, I don't want to go out, but I fancy some company. And I was just thinking about how I wanted to catch up with my law firm partner, so…fancy a beer?"


	7. Catching Up

Chapter 7

Diane knocked on her co-managing partner's apartment door soon after seven pm, holding a six-pack of beer in her right hand. She realized she was still dressed in her lawyer-style outfit from work, but she was pretty sure that Will wouldn't mind. She chuckled at herself holding the case of beer – she didn't drink it very often, but Will had asked her to bring some over because his older sister had thrown everything out that had expired in his fridge and pantry.

Will opened the door, and smiled when he saw Diane. "Hey there," he said. She saw under his shirt that he was still wearing some thin bandaging from his bullet wounds. His hair was brushed, but not styled, and unusual for him, he was sporting a Blackhawks t-shirt and jeans. "Hi Will," Diane replied with a smile.

"Oh, please come in," Will waved her inside and shut the door behind her. "Thanks for coming over."

"No problem," Diane said as she put the six-pack on Will's kitchen island. She looked around his apartment, smiled, and said, "This isn't nearly as organized as your office," she said.

"Nope," Will replied, smiling like he died when he was happy. "I don't really care about my apartment that much. Only people close to me ever actually see it, and if they like me enough then they won't mind."

"Like Dr. Suess said," Diane replied. "Do you mind if I sit?" He nodded in reply, so she sat down and continued talking. "Shouldn't you be sitting down? I thought you were supposed to be recovering, not requesting beer."

"Diane," Will began as he got another glass of water, "My doctor said: _Will, drink lots of water, make sure you take all your meds, and stay away from coffee because coffee and meds don't mix well. And made sure you show up for your appointment next week. And get some sleep. _He didn't say a single thing about alcohol, so I'm not breaking the rules."

"Alrighty then," Diane said. Will fumbled around one of his kitchen drawers until he found a beer can opener, and he proceeded to toss it to Diane, who caught it and opened two bottles of beer. "She put the opener and lids aside, passed a bottle to Will, and held the other one up in the air. "Here's to a speedy recovery," she said with a smile and positive attitude. "Cheers to that," Will said, smiling. After a few sips apiece, Will asked, "So how are things at LG?"

"Well," Diane said, putting her beer down on the table, "I told all the partners that you had been shot and had been hospitalized, but they don't really know much. They know that you've been discharged today though, and they're looking forward to seeing you soon."

"That's nice to hear," Will replied. "I miss work already. I've been a little bored since I got home."

"I'm sure," Diane said. "I know what it's like to have a routine and how weird it feels when you're thrown out of it."

"Exactly!" Will smiled, and took another sip of beer. He finally decided to sit down on one of the chairs next to the kitchen island. Diane decided to ask, "Does anyone else outside the firm know what you've been going through?"

"Both of my sisters, and Cary I think," Will replied. "And Alicia, of course," he added on immediately. "She agreed to help me get home today, but Josephine beat her to it. I just managed to yell loud enough to get her out of my apartment about an hour ago."

"Josephine flew all the way out to see you?" Diane asked, surprised. "You haven't talked to her in, well…" she couldn't finished, so Will finished. "Yep, fifteen years."

"Yikes," Diane said. "How'd Cary find out? Alicia I presume."

"Yeah," Will replied, sipping his beer again. "He got worried about her after she was out of the office for a few hours when I was in surgery. She said he promised that he wouldn't peep, though."

"Kalinda was at the hospital with me too," Diane said. "She was just as worried as Alicia and I when you were in emergency surgery."

"Tell her that I look forward to seeing her again soon, will you?" Will asked hopefully.

"Of course," Diane replied. "Speaking of work, when are you allowed to come back?"

"I actually don't know," Will began with a confused look on his face as he tried to remember if his doctor had said anything. "I guess I'll find out when I go back for my follow up next week."

"Okay, but feel free to come visit whenever you like if you get bored. Or Alicia and I can take you out to dinner if you're allowed to have a drink." Diane smiled, and sipped her beer.

"Alicia like the idea of dinner too," Will said.

"You spoke to her today?"

"Yeah, she wasn't very happy that I had left her hanging at the hospital."

"Nice job, Will."

"I apologized, and it's all good. But Josephine thinks that something's going on between me and Alicia when there isn't, and she keeps bringing it up. Really annoying."

"Is she really wrong?" Diane asked, tilting her head.

Will looked at her sternly. "I will admit, she's not fully wrong. There's still feelings between us. But there isn't anything more than that going on."

Diane laughed. "We'll see if that changes."

"Why do you ask that?"

"Come on, Will, if you had seen Alicia in the hospital, she looked more like your girlfriend who was worried sick about you than an old friend checking up on you," Diane said, waiting for Will to say something. Instead, he finished off his beer, and didn't reply for a few seconds. The apartment went silent.

"Do you remember the day I woke up? When I wouldn't let go of Alicia's hand?" Will asked Diane, breaking the silence. Diane nodded in reply, and he continued. "Before I became conscious, they must not have taken me off all the sedatives at once because I began to hear what people were saying before I became fully conscious. I heard Alicia talking to me, and once I felt Alicia's hand, I just couldn't let go. It was like my brain felt like holding her hand was the fastest way to break out of the unconsciousness I was in.

"And I heard her say _I need you, Will_. I heard her say that. She doesn't know that I heard her say that yet. Those words opened up something within me, and I don't know what I'm going to do. I want to be with her again, and I thinks she wants to as well. But it can't happen. She's the First Lady of Illinois. And Peter's wife."

"Nothing's impossible," Diane says. She put her bottle to her lips, then put it back on the table and sighed. "Wow, I'm finished already. Looks like I really needed that."

"Me too," Will said, standing up to put the two bottles and lids in the trash. He put the opener back in the drawer it had come from, and sat back down. "If you were in my situation, what would you do?"

"Well," Diane began, thinking deeply. "If I really wanted to be with someone who could be classified as legally unavailable, then I would talk to that person about how much both of you wanted a relationship again. And how much that person wanted to get out of it. But I'm telling you right now – Alicia won't want to cause the political scandal of the year."

"By divorcing Peter?" Will asked. Diane responded with a small nod. "I think it's almost hilariously romantic that you two have feelings for each other."

"Thanks a lot, Diane, that's really nice of you," Will replied. "Do you think she and I would ever have a chance? I now that's a weird question to ask?"

"It's none of my business, really, but if you are willing to take my opinion, I will say what I said earlier. Nothing's impossible," Diane said. She looked down at her watch. "Sorry Will, I'm exhausted and I need to get some rest. At least three court appearances next week."

"At least you have the weekend," Will said. "I don't know what I'm going to do. I feel like my weekend is going to last a week."

"Give me or Alicia a call if you want to come and hang out. You'll be most welcome," Diane said, smiling, as she walked towards the door. But she then turned around and said, "And Will, I know you've cared about Alicia for a long time. Don't give up on her, because she cares about you too." When she was done talking, she turned around and let herself out. After the she pulled the door shut, she smiled to herself, hoping that Alicia and Will would somehow work it out.

She thought they made a good pair.


	8. Party Of Three

Chapter 8

Two weeks after his evening talk session with Diane, Will sat in an exam room at the doctor's office, awaiting the results of his doctor's examination of his bullet wounds. He hoped that he would be cleared so he could officially start going back to work. He had hung out at LG and Florrick/Agos a couple of times to chat and enjoy some company, but he wanted to be back in court.

His doctor walked back in and shut the door. He put his papers down on the counter and looked at Will with a straight face. And then he smiled. "Well, Will, I'm happy to say that you've improved so much that I think you can go back to work. But take it easy the first few days, okay? We don't want you to burn out after you just recovered."

"Thank you so much, doctor!" Will was so happy. He said thank you, paid with all the necessary insurance cards at the front desk, and drove straight to Lockhart and Gardner. He had worn a work suit to work because he had been feeling so optimistic. He parked in the parking lot below the building and managed to get a quick elevator ride to the 28th floor. When he walked out of the elevator, he smiled to the receptionist, said good morning, and walked around the corner towards his office.

Diane saw Will walking into his office as she was talking to a client. Naturally, Will chose to walk in and surprise her when she was talking with a client who brought in millions of dollars of revenue for the law firm. She couldn't cut off the meeting for fear of putting the client off staying.

After trying to concentrate on her client for the next twenty minutes, she almost ran into Will's office as soon as her client had left her office. "Will?" she asked with a smile, "What on earth are you doing here?" He stood up and she gave him a hug.

"I got the 'ok' this morning. I just wanted to be back so bad."

"And you seem over the moon to be here. Good for you," Diane replied with a smile.

"Sorry if I distracted you by my surprise entry," Will said with a bit of dry humor.

"Oh, please, Will," Dian said, putting her hands on her hips, "If that client hadn't been the fourth highest source of revenue for this firm, I would have sent her off on her way right away. But you know that we have to do all we can right now to preserve our clients."

"Yes, I understand," Will said. "Do I have any appointments today?"

"No, since we didn't know that you would be showing up today," Diane said. "I have a deposition this afternoon that you're welcome to tag along on. A DUI lawsuit."

"Fun stuff," Will said as he checked that everyone was in order around his office.

Diane interrupted Will's inspection of his bookcase. "Will?" He turned around in response. "Yes?"

"Does Alicia know that you got cleared to get back to work? I'm sure she would like to know," Diane said encouragingly.

"I actually called her on my way over here. She was really happy for me," Will replied with a big smile.

"I'm glad," Diane replied. She looked at her watch, and then realized that if she didn't leave soon, she was going to be late for lunch. She turned around to her assistant. "Alison, could you please check what time I reserved for lunch?"

"Of course, Ms. Lockhart," Alison replied. After a few clicks of the mouse and some scrolling through Diane's busy schedule, she looked up and replied, "You booked a table for two at Romeo's Italian for noon, and it is 11:10 now."

"Thank you, Alison," Diane replied. She turned back to Will, and then said, "Alison, could you please get Romeo's on the phone?"

Will turned around as he heard Diane's words. "I just dialed," Alison said as she handed Diane her desk phone. "What are you doing?" Will asked his co-partner, walking towards her.

"Changing my lunch reservation," Diane replied, smiling, "To a table for three."

"Sorry?" Will was confused.

"I'm having lunch with a good friend who manages another firm. You're now coming with me," Diane said while she waited for the phone to be picked up on the other end of the line.

Will was about to ask who, but Diane got engrossed in talking to the restaurant hostess. She put the down the phone, and went back into her office to grab her coat and purse. She walked out of her office and paused, noticing that Will was still standing outside his office. Although, he had resorted to looking at something on his phone. "Will," Diane said lightly.

Will immediately looked up. "What?"

"We're going to lunch now," Diane said, motioning for Will to come. She turned to Alison and said, "I'll be back in at two, so please tell anyone important who calls that I will return their calls when I return."

"Yes, Ms. Lockhart," Alison replied. "Will Mr. Gardner be gone too?"

"Yes, but I don't think where I am really matters today because I don't have any appointments," Will cut in, smiling at Diane. After that, they got into the elevator and headed for Diane's car.

Once she arrived at Romeo's, Alicia parallel parked next to the curb and walked in to the restaurant. The weekday lunch rush was in full swing, and Alicia was happy that Diane had booked a table. She walked up to the hostess stand and said, "Hi, can I check in here? The reservation should be under Lockhart."

"Yes, I see your reservation right here," the hostess replied. "For a party of three, correct?"

"Sorry?" Alicia replied, confused. "I thought it was only for two."

"I believe she called a little while ago to change the number of people in the reservation. Would you like to wait for the rest of the party to be seated or would you like to be seated now?"

"I'd like to be seated now," Alicia said, and as she walked to the table, she thought, _who is Diane bringing with her? She didn't say anything to me about this. _

She said thank you to the hostess as she took off her coat, hung her purse around the top of her chair, and sat down at a square table in the middle of the restaurant. She looked at the drinks menu first, and ordered a glass of red wine when a waitress arrived a few minutes later. She saw Diane walk up to the hostess stand after she had ordered her wine, but couldn't fully see who was with her.

The hostess motioned for Diane and her guest to follow her to the table where Alicia was sitting. She waved hello to Diane, and as soon as Diane's companion came into view, she couldn't believe who it was.

The third person in the reservation was Will.


	9. Cake

**Thank you so much for all the awesome reviews! I love receiving them – they make me smile that people really like my writing! Enjoy this next chapter. **

Chapter 9

"Hi, Will," Alicia said, smiling, as she stood up to shake hands with him. Instead, he pulled her into a friendly hug. Diane awkwardly sat down as she watched two of her best friends have a hug. Alicia and Will proceeded to sit down, and as Will picked up his menu, Alicia's glass of wine arrived. She told the waitress thank you and took a small sip. _Very nice wine, _she thought to herself.

"Already started?" Will asked with a smile.

"I didn't know how long Diane and her mysterious guest were going to be, so I decided to order a drink," Alicia said.

"Mysterious guest?" Diane asked, looking up from her menu.

"Well," Alicia replied, reaching for her wine glass, "When the hostess told me that the reservation had been changed to be for three people, I didn't know who the third person was." She took another sip of wine.

"Hello everyone, how are we doing today?" a waitress dressed in a formal uniform said as she approached the table. Can I get any drinks for you to start? Or would you like to order some appetizers?"

"I'll have whatever she's having," Diane said, pointing to Alicia's wine glass, "And I'll just go straight to main course. I'll have Pasta Primavera please."

"And for you, sir?" the waitress asked Will. "I'll have a Budweiser please," Will replied, "And a Cowboy Pizza please."

"Certainly sir," the waitress responded. "And for you, ma'am?" she asked Alicia.

"I'll have a Fettuccine Alfredo with chicken, please," Alicia said, handing her menu to the waitress. "Thank you," she added.

"My pleasure," the waitress said with a smile. "Your orders should be ready soon," she finished as she walked off to another table.

"So, Alicia," Diane said as Alicia was helping herself to a slice of warm bared from the center of the table, "How are things over at Florrick/Agos?"

"Oh, they're going well, thanks," Alicia replied. "Although, I have a divorce case right now that has been going nowhere for the past weeks. The two of them keep having shouting matches during depositions. We have another one this afternoon, and if this one ends without any more progress, we are probably going to court."

"Sounds lovely," Will said. "Lots of money?"

"Unfortunately," Alicia said as she laughed lightly. "After taking on this case, it seems like divorce is a nightmare when lots of money is involved."

"It is," Will said as his and Diane's drinks arrived at the table. "My sister's divorce from her first husband dragged on for months because they were arguing over how to split the investments. And who was going to get their old cat."

Alicia and Diane both laughed. "They were arguing over an old cat?" Alicia asked in surprise.

"Yeah, apparently they were both really partial to it," Will replied, smiling.

"And who ended up with the cat?" Diane asked, wanting to hear the end of the story.

"It died during negotiations."

Alicia and Diane laughed even harder. "That is sad, but hilarious," Diane said. "So after all the arguing over who was going to get the cat, neither of them got it."

"Yeah, it probably gave up because of all the stress vibes it was getting from its owners," Alicia said. "I remember that my family had a cat when I was little. She was this little tabby cat named Sammy. She suddenly became attached to me around preschool age, and she slept on my bed every night with me for six years until she passed away." Alicia smiled, thinking fondly of Sammy.

"That's sweet," Will said. "I didn't have any pets growing up, though. Both my mom and Josie are allergic to dogs _and _cats."

"I didn't know Josie was allergic to dogs and cats," Alicia replied, eyeing Will. "What?" Will asked Alicia, afraid that she might suddenly say something mean.

"Oh, nothing," Alicia replied as she buttered a piece of bread. "Josie just tried to give me a piece of her mind and I refused to listen."

Will rolled his eyes. "Of course she did."

"Why do you say that?" Diane asked, curious. Will suddenly gave her a look, and Diane knew that he was telling her to not bring up the conversation they had over beer a few weeks ago. She occupied herself with sipping her wine as she watched Alicia and Will engage in lively conversation. As she watched them talk to each other and make each other smile and laugh, she thought to herself, _why didn't they get together at Georgetown? They'd make a great couple. And a great pair of lawyers._

"Diane?" Alicia asked, causing Diane to say, "Sorry?"

"Our food's arriving," Alicia said as her pasta dish was put in front of her. After the waitress had put all three dishes on the table, she asked, "Is there anything else I can get for you?"

"No, this is great, thank you," Diane said, and the waitress smiled and carried her tray and stand away. "Bon appetit," Alicia said as she put her fork into her pasta. "So what were you thinking about? You were quiet for a while."

"Oh, just my mind thinking about some meetings I have later today," Diane said, trying to sound convincing. _Not,_ a part of Diane's mind told her.

All three lawyers finished off their main courses in between some laughs and conversation. After looking at a desert menu, Alicia decided to order a slice of chocolate cake to-go. "Zach and Grace will love it," she explained. Diane and Will smiled. Diane then left the table to go to the restroom, leaving Alicia and Will at the table.

"Alicia, can I ask you something?" Will asked cautiously.

"Of course!" Alicia exclaimed. "Fire away."

"Have you ever thought about where you want to be in ten, say fifteen, years? Who you would want to be with? Who you wouldn't want to be with?"

Alicia was caught off guard. "Well, um," she began, trying to think, "I really don't know, Will. I know I want to be happy, and I know that I still want to have you and Diane in my life. Zach and Grace will be adults by then, which is a bit crazy to think about," she said, smiling at the thought of having grown-up kids. "Will, I honestly don't know where I'm going to end up in a decade or two. But I am sure of one thing. I want to be happy and make the most of life. What about you?"

"I want to be happy too," Will replied, "And still have you to talk to."

"Will, I can assure you that you can still talk to me as long as we friends," Alicia said, smiling. Before she could say anymore, her to-go chocolate cake slice arrived with the check and Diane returned to the table. Alicia reached for her wallet to put her credit card in the folder, but when she looked up again, the black folder was already gone. "What happened to the check?" she asked. Diane had missed it entirely as well – she had her wallet in her hand as well. "Will?" Alicia asked, bemused.

"I'm paying for lunch today," Will said. "Because I am with my two best friends, and I want to celebrate being able to go back to work."

"Alright then," Diane said, smiling to Will and Alicia as she and Alicia put their wallets back in their purses. After Will signed the check, all three of them stood up and walked out of the restaurant. Once they were outside, Alicia hugged Diane and said, "Thanks. This was really nice."

"Thank you for joining me," Diane replied.

"And thanks, Will," Alicia said, succeeding in getting Will's attention, "You were a great addition to our lunch." Alicia looked at her watch and realized that she had to get back to her office. "I've got to go, my deposition starts in less than an hour. Take care."

"Bye Alicia," Will said, followed by Diane saying "Bye!" Diane and Will proceeded to walk in the opposite direction towards Diane's car. Once they were both seated inside, Diane looked across at Will. "You two seemed to have a great time," she said.

"We did," Will replied. "I hope you did too."

"Of course I did, It's always fun to catch up with Alicia and all things Florrick/Agos. It's interesting that we can talk casually about that now, isn't it? When we were so mad at the beginning?"

"Time makes all the difference," Will replied. "I've learned that through all my medical stuff the past two months."

"I'm sure," Diane said. She pulled out of the parking spot and headed for LG.

That evening, Alicia got a call from Zach as she was about to leave work. He and Grace had elected to stay with Peter for one more night so they could hear more about the State Dinner that was coming up. Peter and Alicia had agreed that they were both old enough to come this year, so Zach and Grace were naturally very excited.

Alicia got into her car and realized that the slice of chocolate cake from lunchtime was still in her car. And that Zach and Grace would not be eating it tonight. She didn't want to have it sit in the fridge for a day.h

Will collapsed on his couch with a bottle of beer, happy that he could relax. He was quite tired even after spending a single day back at work. _Guess the doctor was right about taking it easy, _he thought to himself. After about twenty minutes of watching the news, a knock sounded from the other side of his apartment door. He walked over and, after looking through the peephole, opened his door to find, to his surprise, Alicia.

"Hi, Alicia," he said slowly, "Is everything alright?"

"Oh, yes, of course," she said casually. "I'm actually by myself tonight and I was wondering if you wanted to have some cake."

"Cake?" Will asked, suddenly remembering that Alicia had ordered some from the restaurant earlier (as she pulled it out of a paper bag). "Split it with me?" she asked.


	10. I Need You

**I can't believe this is the 10****th**** chapter! Enjoy **

Chapter 10

Will was surprised by Alicia's offer, but he couldn't refuse. "Sounds good," he said. "Come on in."

"Thank you," Alicia said as she entered Will's apartment. She looked around at his furniture, and commented, "I can see why Josephine wanted to clean up your apartment."

"You aren't seriously a cleaning addict too, are you?" Will asked, hoping her answer was no. "No," Alicia replied as she removed her coat. "But things don't always look the best when they're untidy."

"Well, I'm totally fine with it," Will said. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a knife, two forks, and two plates. Alicia set the cake on the counter and Will split it in half and served it up. They sat down on two of the chairs next to the kitchen table, and Will grunted in satisfaction after he took the first bite. "This is really good. Why don't Zach and Grace get to eat it?"

"They're with Peter tonight. Learning more about the State Dinner," Alicia replied, followed by a sigh. "It's in a few weeks, and there's a lot of hype around it because Peter has to give a big speech that is most likely going to be televised. And Zach and Grace are being allowed to go, so they're excited about that."

"That sounds like fun," Will said, smiling between two mouthfuls of cake. "Do I get to come?" he asked, jokingly.

"I don't know," Alicia said. "Last time I checked, you and Peter didn't really get along."

"I was only joking," Will said. He put his fork down and realized that he had finished his slice. "Thank you, Alicia, that was delicious," he said.

"You're most welcome," Alicia said, smiling. She still had a small amount of cake left, and when she saw Will eyeing it, she said, motioning with her hand, "Oh, go on, finish it. I've had enough."

"Thanks," Will replied happily as he finished Alicia's half of the cake slice. The cake was delicious; three layers of light, yummy chocolate cake joined together by a rich, thick chocolate ganache. It was topped off with light, creamy chocolate frosting. _This is really good, _Will thought to himself.

"Can I ask you something?" Will said after putting his fork down a second time.

"Sure."

"Why did you want to split this slice of cake with me? Did you just want to hang out, or is something else going on?"

Alicia hesitated, sighed, and then realized that she had to come clean with her motives. "Look, Peter and I are distancing from each other. Especially since you got shot and I went into a phase of constant worry. He wasn't super supportive of me being worried about you, especially since you two aren't exactly on super friendly terms.

"I also feared the worst when you were in emergency surgery. And when I saw you the day you woke up," Alicia continued, tears coming to her eyes, "I realized that I wouldn't be able to carry on without you." She paused, then said. "I can't believe I just said that."

"I heard you."

"What?" Alicia asked, confused.

"Back in the hospital. Remember the day I woke up?" Alicia nodded in reply, and Will continued, "I heard you say that you needed me.

"And that's why I wouldn't let go. Because I need you, Alicia."

Alicia wanted to lean in and kiss Will, but their tender moment was interrupted by a knock on the door. Alicia looked at Will as if to say, _What? Who's there? _He got up to answer the door. Will looked through the peephole, saw who was on the other side, and banged his head against the door. He was tempted to just walk away, but he knew he couldn't, so he opened the door.

"Josephine," he said slyly, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Will, we need to talk. I saw Alicia walk into your apartment building twenty minutes go and-" she stopped talking as she pushed past Will and saw Alicia sitting at the kitchen table, with a fake smile-type look on her face. "…She's still here." Josephine finished.

Will leaned against the door and said, "Josephine, I didn't say that you could come in. Would you mind leaving us alone?"

"No please from my little brother?"

"We're both grown-ups. Now get out." Will was getting angrier by the second. Alicia noticed that Will was an explosion waiting to happen, so she said, "Josephine, why don't you and I have a chat while Will goes and calms himself down. How does that sound?"

Josephine, smiled, and said. "Sounds good, Mrs. Florrick." Will gave Alicia a look as he stormed through the kitchen and into the back hallway. A few seconds later, Alicia heard a door slam. By the time Alicia had refocused her attention, Josephine was already standing right next to Alicia with her arms crossed.

"Mrs. Florrick, if I may say that-"

"Oh please, call me Alicia, if we are going to talk in this manner," Alicia said, attempting to prepare herself.

"Okay then, Alicia, I need to make something clear. You are unavailable. You and Will can't be hanging out like this and potentially pursuing a relationship! You're married!"

"Yes, I am married. But that doesn't mean that I can't have male friends."

"Sounds like you two are more than friends."

"If you must know, we have history. We've been through a lot together."

"Then why don't you move on? Be happy as the First Lady of Illinois," Josephine snapped.

"I have moved on. And I wouldn't interfere with me, if I were you. You're walking into personal territory right now, and you are crossing the line."

"Why can't you just leave him alone? Huh? Didn't you leave his firm? Aren't you two supposed to hate each other?"

"Hah, oh he hated me for a while, I can tell you that," Alicia replied.

"You didn't answer my question!"

"I don't have to answer your questions if I don't want to. I'm the First Lady of Illinois."

"Political stature shouldn't matter here!"

"Well, I'm sorry that you can't see that it does. I can have you sued, you know. With the snap of a finger."

"I don't care. I'm just looking out for my little brother!"

Alicia stood up, now at eye level with Josephine. "Look here, Mrs. Brown. Will told me that you two haven't been in touch for fifteen years! And when do you decide to show up? Only when he gets shot and nearly dies! If you cared about your brother you would respect his space and leave him alone!"

In his bedroom, Will could hear the conversation between Alicia and Josephine escalating. He wanted to help Alicia, but wasn't sure when to intervene.

And then he heard Josephine say, "Why can't you leave him alone, Alicia?"

He flung his door open and stormed down the hallway as he heard Josephine continue to yell questions at Alicia. And then, just as he rounded the corner into the kitchen, Alicia lost it.

"Because I love him!" she yelled.


	11. Get Out

**Thank you so much for all the positive reviews and reactions! I love receiving each and every one!**

Chapter 11

Will stared at Alicia, and once Josephine saw that Will had heard her, Alicia saw Josephine looking behind her and turned around to see Will standing at the edge of the kitchen. She gasped, her hand over her mouth, the other leaning against the kitchen table. Will broke the silence and started walking over towards Josephine. "Josie," he began angrily, his face becoming scary. "You have no right to interfere into Alicia's personal business or that of mine. Now get out." When she didn't move, he repeated, "Get out!"

Josephine gave Alicia a cold look, turned for the door, and said, "Your love is in the wrong the place." And with that, she walked out and slammed the door.

Will had watched Josephine leave, so he hadn't seen Alicia sit down on one of the kitchen chairs and put her head in her hands. He turned around when he heard her begin to cry. "Alicia," he said quietly.

Alicia sat up, facing Will. "Why didn't you do something? Why didn't you come in and make her stop? Why did you let her take me to the brink like that? How could you?" She had tears in her eyes.

"Alicia, you started that, remember? I'm sorry that it went that far," Will said sympathetically. Alicia stood up and headed for the door, bag and coat in hand. "Alicia, wait!" he said, louder this time. He ran up behind her and grabbed her arm. She whirled around. "What?" she asked, tears still in her eyes.

"I did do something," he said. "I got her out of here before you two actually physically starting punching each other."

"I didn't want her to know," Alicia replied, looking down.

"Why didn't you want her to know what? That you loved me? Why?"

"Because they are my feelings, no one else's. I don't want the whole paparazzi to know that I love someone who isn't by husband. And she might use that to destroy me!"

"If that happens, I'll be right here, okay? Because guess what?"

"What?" Alicia said, realizing that she was still standing in Will's apartment.

Will put his face closer to Alicia's. "I love you too," he said.

He leaned in to kiss her.

And she let him.

**Sorry to make you guys wait so long…hope you liked this chapter! More coming soon…**


	12. Something To Do With Will

Chapter 12

Part of Alicia was surprised. And yet, another part of her was thankful. She and Will were finally on the same page.

Except they had one roadblock. A pretty major one at that.

Peter.

Alicia tried to shut Peter out of her mind as she turned the key in the lock of the front door to her apartment. She smiled to herself as she walked in, and then got startled by Grace saying "Hi mom!" from the living room.

Alicia paused for a second, then put her keys down on the table next to the door and walked into the kitchen. "Hi…Grace," Alicia said slowly. "You said you were staying with dad tonight."

"Well," Zach said, making himself visible by sitting up on the couch, "The State Dinner stuff was interesting, and then he got a phone call. That he stayed on for, like, more than fifteen minutes. He didn't look like he was hanging up anytime soon, so we came back here."

"Politics isn't always as interesting as it sounds," Alicia said, smiling. In the time that it took her to pour herself a glass of water and turn back towards the kitchen island, Zach and Grace had already stood up and walked into the kitchen.

"Mom? What's going on?" Zach asked, curious. He crossed his arms a few seconds after his little sister.

"What?" Alicia took another sip of water. "Nothing's going on. What are you talking about?"

"Are you sure?" Grace asked, smiling. "Because the last time you walked in with that look on your face was when Will woke up from his coma."

"Is it something to do with Will?" Zach continued.

"I'm not going to tell you," Alicia said, even though part of her wanted to tell Zach and Grace that she wanted to be with Will. But she didn't want to put them in an awkward place with Peter, since she wasn't planning on telling _him _anytime soon. "I don't want to place you in an awkward situation."

"It _is _something to do with Will! Come on, mom!" Grace whined. "Now you're just making us want to hear it even more! What is it? Please?" she continued, pulling a puppy face.

"Come on, mom. Please?" Zach repeated.

Alicia didn't reply, taking a sip of water instead while she contemplated her options. _Number one. Make up a lie. Number two. Refuse to say anything and try to change the subject. Number three. Just tell them._

Alicia decided to try number two. "You know what? I'm really tired right now, and I think I'm going to go take a shower."

"You're trying to change the subject!" Grace accused.

"I'm allowed privacy, just as you are," Alicia replied, placing her water glass next to the fridge. "Mom, come on, please?" Grace said again.

Alicia whirled around. "If you ask me one more time, I'm taking away computer privileges." She continued talking as Grace and Zach opened their mouths to protest. "No buts, please," she finished. And with that, she walked out of the kitchen and into her bathroom to take a hot shower.

Back in the living room, Zach and Grace sat down next to each other on the couch. They were both watching the TV screen as Zach flipped through channels. But they couldn't find anything interesting – neither of them really wanted to watch _Hannibal._

Zach switched off the TV and sighed. "Zach?" Grace asked, turning her head.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"What do you think mom's not telling us?"

"I have no clue," Zach replied, trying to think. "It's got to be something to do with Will, right?"

"Oh, totally," Grace replied enthusiastically. "But what about dad?"

"I really don't know. I mean, I don't think they'll get together again soon, not that dad's governor now. And she's the First Lady."

"True," Grace replied. "But I still think she's in love with Will."

"You sure?" Zach asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Grace said assertively. "It's almost like Will being shot has changed something for her…and did you see her face when we asked about Will? She totally tried to change the subject!"

"I know!" Zach said, completely in agreement. "But if they got back together, I wouldn't be surprised, you know?"

"Me neither," Grace replied. "Let's just try not to laugh like we predicted right if it does happen."


	13. Called In Sick

**Sorry for not posting a new chapter in so long…my life has been really crazy lately. Enjoy this next installment! **

Chapter 13

The following week, Alicia walked into Florrick/Agos holding a grande-size coffee. She had had to attend two political events to keep up with her and Peter's image, and she had suddenly gotten tired of trying to save face. "Morning, Alicia," Robyn said as she walked by. "Morning, Robyn," Alicia said as she sat down at her desk. There was a new manila file in the middle of her desk, with a yellow sticky note on top.

_Thought you might like this one – big divorce case. Deposition at 1pm at LG. –Cary._

Alicia smiled, and then realized that it was already 8 am. She only had four hours to prepare, if she factored in driving and lunch. _Great, _Alicia thought. _Thanks Cary._

"Robyn?" Alicia called out. Robyn peered round the corner, and Alicia asked, "Where's Cary?"

"Called in sick. Why?"

"Why didn't he tell me that he was calling in sick?"

"Don't know. He called about half an hour before you walked in."

"Weird," Alicia replied.

"What's weird?" Robyn asked, coming into Alicia's office area.

"He left me this divorce case with a deposition today. With a sticky note," Alicia replied, pausing between each sentence. "How old is this ink?"

"Let me see," Robyn said, holding out her right hand. Alicia passed the file over her desk. "Hmm," Robyn said, looking closer at the sticky note. "Not wet. And it's faded a tiny bit." Robyn looked up for a second, then gave the file back to Alicia. "He must have written that on Friday. Kendra – what time did Cary clock out on Friday?" she asked.

"Five thirty. Last to leave," Kendra replied.

"There you have it," Robyn said, shrugging.

"So he planned to call in sick," Alicia concluded. "Why?"

"He didn't say anything to me," Robyn said. "You?"

"Nope," Alicia thought. "Weird."

Alicia managed to read just enough about the divorce case and wolf down a quick lunch before speeding over the LG for the deposition. She took the elevator to the 28th floor like she had done every day for over four years. She walked into the reception area, and before she approached the desk, she saw Diane in the big meeting room on the other side of the glass wall. There was also a man and a woman standing on opposite sides of the room. The woman was standing by herself, on her cell phone in the far corner. The man, presumably her husband, was conversing on the other side of the meeting table with Diane.

And Will.

_What? _Alicia thought to herself. Before she could think more, Diane looked up and saw her. She smiled with a slightly confused look on her face, and waved Alicia in. Alicia proceeded to walk into the room, and introduce herself to the woman. "Hi, I'm Alicia Florrick," she said. "Hi," the woman replied, "I'm Lacie Karinsky. Thank you for coming but, I thought Cary Agos was."

"So did I," Alicia replied, motioning for Lacie to sit down as she sat down herself. "He called in sick."

"Oh well," Lacie replied. "I'm sure you'll do just as great a job as he would have."

"I will try my best," Alicia replied, hoping that her work would live up to Lacie's expectations. "Afternoon, Alicia," Diane said as she, Will, and her client sat down. "Lacie," she said. "Ms. Lockhart," Lacie replied with a hint of pessimism. _Interesting, _Alicia noted.

"Hi Alicia," Will said with a smile, from across the table. "Hi Will," Alicia replied with a smile. "I'm happy to see you," Will continued, "But I thought Cary was covering this case."

After sighing, Alicia replied, "As I just told my client, Cary called in sick."

"What?" Diane asked, almost dropping the pens she was taking notes with on a yellow notepad.

"Sorry," Will said, "What are you talking about?" Alicia went back to examining some case notes when she heard Diane reply, "Kalinda called in sick too."

Now it was Alicia's turn to be surprised. "What?' she echoed.

Will, Alicia, and Diane all exchanged surprised looks, and after a few seconds, Diane and Will's client broke in. "Excuse me," he said, "Are we having a weird moment here or something, or can we hash this out?"

"I don't believe we've been introduced," Alicia replied. "I'm Alicia Florrick."

"I know," the man replied. "You're the first Lady of Illinois. I'm Frank Karinsky."

"Nice to meet you, Frank," Alicia replied. "Now let's get started."

After a few minutes, the discussions were going very smoothly, but Alicia noticed that Lacie was acting very submissive and being very quiet. "Lacie?" she asked in the middle of a discussion over splitting of investments. "Are you alright?"

Lacie immediately sat up. "Oh, nothing. I'm fine," she replied, smiling with a sort-of fake smile. "Okay," Alicia replied, going along with Lacie's reply. But her senses were telling her that something was up. "Why do you want this divorce, Mr. Karinsky?" Alicia asked out of the blue.

"I thought that was made clear in my paperwork," Frank replied.

"You stated unresolvable differences, so I was wondering if you both would elaborate. I only just got this case today, you see," Alicia said. Diane and Will nodded in agreement, but neither Frank nor Lasie rose to speak. "Ten minute break?" Diane suggested. "Will, Alicia, my office."

"There's something going on in there," Diane said after Will shut the door.

"I agree," Alicia said. "It's like they don't want to talk about why they're getting a divorce."

"It's very strange," Will commented. He turned to Alicia and said, "You talk to your client, we'll talk to ours. Sound good?"

Will interrupted before Alicia could reply. "Where's Kalinda when we need her?" he chuckled.

"Speaking of Kalinda," Diane continued. "Where is she?"

"Do you think it's at all weird that both Kalinda and Cary both called in sick? On the same day?" Alicia asked her two previous colleagues.

"I have to admit," Diane replied suspiciously, "It is suspicious."

"Can you reach Cary?" Will asked Alicia. "I haven't tried," Alicia said, turning to Will, "I spent the entire morning preparing for this deposition.

"Robyn also found out that Cary was the last to clock out on Friday. It seems like he planned to be sick, but didn't tell anyone about it, which made it look like he was really sick."

Diane put her phone to her ear. Will and Alicia waited until she hung up, and Diane said, "No answer. It seems her phone's off."

"Great. I'll talk to my client and try to reach Cary," Alicia agreed. "Shall we continue?"

"I think we'll call it a day," Diane suggested. "Will?"

"I'm good with that," Will agreed. Alicia nodded in reply, and Alicia exited the office to try and get ahold of Cary.

Cary leaned over on the sofa to look at his phone. The caller ID read _Alicia Florrick. _He was about to hit answer when someone else said, "Don't, Cary."

"Oh, come on," Cary suggested, "It won't take them long to put their heads together."

"You were the one who said that you wanted to get away. That's why you handed over the case, right?"

"And I'm glad I got away. To be here, with you. But I don't want to leave Alicia hanging forever."

"She'll understand."

"Are you sure about that, Kalinda?"


	14. A Big Problem

Chapter 14

Alicia walked back into the LG conference room to say goodbye to her client, and was surprised to find her still sitting in the same chair as before she had walked out of the room. "Lacie?" Alicia asked. Lacie looked up, and replied, "Yes?"

"Would you mind coming back to my office? I'd like to ask you a few more questions?"

"I, well…" Lacie trailed off, then came back to the conversation. "Sure, as long as Frank isn't anywhere near us."

"He won't be," Alicia said confidently. "Follow me back in my car, okay?" Lacie nodded in reply and turned around to get her coat. They rode down in the same elevator to the parking garage, and while Alicia started wanting to ask questions, she had learned that clients that were hiding something wouldn't start talking in a place like an elevator. She watched Lacie get in her car, and then got in hers to head back to Florrick/Agos.

As Alicia was taking the elevator up to the office with Lacie, she tried calling Cary again. Thankfully, he picked up this time. "Hello?" Cary said.

"Oh, thank God," Alicia replied, "I've been trying to reach you for over an hour. Where are you?" Lacie looked at Alicia with a weird look on her face as Cary replied, "I'm taking a sick day, remember?"

Alicia wanted to ask him about Kalinda, but she couldn't do that with Lacie in the elevator. And not with the elevator just opening on the Florrick/Agos floor. As she motioned for Lacie to follow her to her desk, she told Cary, "You know what, I'll call you later," and hung up. Lacie and Alicia sat down on opposite sides of the desk, and Alicia wasted no time.

"What's going on, Lacie?" When Lacie hesitated, Alicia put her arms on the desk and leaned forward. "Look, Lacie, I have been a lawyer for over five years. I know that when clients are hesitant and quiet, that means they're hiding something. And I need to know what's going on so I can appropriately defend you during the course of your divorce."

Lacie looked around, then turned back to Alicia and leaned forward. Alicia suddenly realized that she was scared. "Promise Frank won't find out?"

Alicia wanted to say yes, but she didn't know what Lacie was about to say. But she wanted to find out, so she replied, "Yes."

"Okay," Lacie began, pausing to uncross her legs and cross them again. "The main reason Frank and I are getting a divorce is because we don't really want to be together anymore. After I had a miscarriage."

"Alright," Alicia replied calmly, "Anything else?"

"That's what Frank thinks," Lacie replied. She reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope from a doctor's office. She handed it to Alicia, who opened the envelope and read the first page of blood test results. She did an internal gasp. Lacie was having another baby.

And she hadn't told her husband.

After Alicia had, as calmly as possible, told Lacie to go home and try her best to chill out, she stood pacing back and forth behind her desk as she called Cary again. He must have been waiting for her to call again, because he picked up before the second ring. "Alicia," he said calmly.

"Cary, I need you to come in. We've got a problem. A big problem," Alicia hissed.

"Alicia," Cary said, trying to fake a cough but failing, "I already told you, I'm taking a sick day."

Before Cary could say anymore, Alicia turned towards the window and hissed into her phone, "Don't think I'm that stupid, Cary. I found out this morning that Kalinda took a sick day too. Isn't that just a weird coincidence that the two of you would take a sick day on the same day?"

Cary sighed, then said, "Promise you won't tell anyone."

"Won't tell anyone what?"  
"Kalinda and I are back together," Cary replied slowly. _Busted, _he thought to himself.

"Oh my God, Cary," Alicia replied, turning back towards her desk again. "You didn't have to cover up your relationship with a sick day. I'm your managing partner. You should have told me."

"I wasn't sure what was going to happen."

"Cary, you're just supposed to say 'I'm sorry' and come into work. I need you right now, okay?"

Cary, sitting on the edge of the bed, put his head in his free hand. After recollecting himself, he replied, "Okay, I'll be in in 30 minutes."

"Great, see you soon," Alicia said quickly, and hung up the phone.


End file.
